Automatically generating and maintaining a floor plan

ABSTRACT

Systems and techniques for automatically obtaining data indicating the locations of wireless devices and physical objects within a region are provided. An autonomous mobile platform may survey a region with a wireless signal strength sensor and/or a physical environment sensor. The signal strength data and the spatial data are used to generate a map that indicates the locations of wireless devices within a region such as a home or office. The map may be automatically generated and/or updated in the course of other operations performed by an autonomous mobile platform.

BACKGROUND

There is growing trend in expanding the reach of location-specificcomputer networks throughout the home and other locales. For example,home gateways have been developed to provide automation throughout thehome. Centralized automation systems typically provide an interface thatenables various electronic products and appliances to connect to thenetwork to share data and interact with one another.

For example, consumers who have automated their home typically are ableto control wireless devices within the home. There are various homeappliances that may be connected to the home automation system such asTVs, refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, air-conditioners,and the like. Other electronic products include less obvious devicessuch as light fixtures, routers, and any other devices that operate onwireless protocols. Similarly, various items may be connected withinother centralized automation systems, such as hospital equipment,inventory control systems, physical plant management systems, and thelike.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to methods for an autonomous platformto survey a region such as a home, office, physical plant, hospital,outdoor environment, or the like, and create a map of the region. Themap may include both the wireless devices and the physical objectswithin the region. In an implementation, an autonomous mobile platformhaving at least one wireless signal strength sensor and a physicalenvironment sensor may survey a region. Signal strength data for awireless device in the region may be obtained from the wireless signalstrength sensor. Similarly, spatial data for the region may be obtainedfrom the physical environment sensor. Spatial and wireless data also maybe obtained by monitoring the position of the autonomous mobile platformas it patrols, and/or based upon signal strength information containedin communication between the autonomous mobile platform and one or morewireless devices. The signal strength data and the spatial data may beprovided to a centralized automation system, such as a home automationsystem. The signal strength data may include a wireless deviceidentifier, signal-to-noise ratio, packet loss rate, or any other uniquemeasure in radio signal space used for location determination. Spatialdata may be absolute or relative position, and may be described usingangular position, range, direction, absolute or relative coordinates, orany other suitable indication of physical position.

In an implementation of the disclosed subject matter, a system mayreceive spatial data of a region and signal strength data for a wirelessdevice in the region from an autonomous mobile platform. A map of theregion may be generated based upon the spatial data received. The mapmay indicate the location of the wireless device in the region. Thelocation of the wireless device may be determined based on the signalstrength data received. The map may be updated to reflect differentialspatial data and differential signal strength data received from theautonomous platform.

In an implementation, a centralized automation system may receive a mapindicating the location of the wireless device in the region. The mapmay be a topographical map, a geographical map, a floor plan, a listingof devices organized by regions, or other related maps for indicatingthe location of the wireless devices in the region.

Additional features, advantages, and implementations of the disclosedsubject matter may be set forth or apparent from consideration of thefollowing detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is tobe understood that both the foregoing summary and the following detaileddescription are examples and are intended to provide further explanationwithout limiting the scope of the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosed subject matter, are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification. The drawings also illustrateimplementations of the disclosed subject matter and together with thedetailed description serve to explain the principles of implementationsof the disclosed subject matter. No attempt is made to show structuraldetails in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamentalunderstanding of the disclosed subject matter and various ways in whichit may be practiced.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method for obtaining signalstrength data and spatial data according to an implementation of thedisclosed subject matter.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method for determining a locationof a wireless device based on signal strength data according to animplementation of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 3 shows a device according to an embodiment of the disclosedsubject matter.

FIG. 4 shows a network configuration according to an embodiment of thedisclosed subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Implementations disclosed herein relate generally to systems andtechniques for mapping wireless devices within a region. Morespecifically, implementations disclosed herein may allow forautonomously generating a map of a home or other region that indicatesthe location and identification of wireless devices for later automationuse. Autonomous devices include devices that can perform desired tasksin unstructured environments without continuous human guidance.

FIG. 1 shows an example method for obtaining signal strength data from awireless signal strength sensor and spatial data from a physicalenvironment sensor. In an implementation, at 101, an autonomous mobileplatform may survey a region. A region may include, for example anoffice or office building, a home, a hospital or similar environment,secure areas in which it may be useful to monitor wirelesscommunications, or, more generally, any indoor or outdoor area of anysize. In some cases the region may be defined based upon the specificoperation of the autonomous mobile platform, such as where a homecleaning device is configured to operate within a specific room, rooms,or portion of a room. The mobile platform may be any autonomousplatform, for example, an autonomous vacuum cleaner, delivery platforms,self-driving vehicles, or autonomous monitoring devices, and the like.Autonomous platforms may include devices that can perform desired tasksin unstructured environments without continuous human guidance. Forexample, an autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner is capable of navigating aliving space and common obstacles while vacuuming the floor. Otherexamples of autonomous devices include platforms capable of positionsensing and navigation. These may be found, for example in such fieldsas industrial robotics, lawn care, and wastewater treatment. Anautonomous platform may be capable of working for an extended periodwithout human intervention, gaining information about the environment,and moving all or part of themselves through an operating environmentwithout human assistance.

An autonomous platform may include a signal strength sensor whenobtained by the user or the user may add it to an existing platform. Thesignal strength sensor may allow the autonomous mobile platform toobtain signal strength data for a wireless device in the region at 102.The signal strength data may include a wireless device identifier,signal-to-noise ratio, packet loss rate, or any other measure in radiosignal space used for determining information about a wireless device.In some cases, the signal strength data may be obtained from, or as apart of, the underlying signaling mechanism. For example, signalstrength data as described herein may include the value of the receivedsignal strength indicator (RSSI) as used in IEEE 802.11x wirelessprotocols or similar protocol-specific data. As previously described, amobile platform may autonomously patrol a region. Signal strength datareadings may be taken continuously as the platform moves within theregion, at regular intervals, and/or when the autonomous mobile platformencounters a natural or artificial marker. For example, the mobileplatform may patrol a home, office space, or other region having severalrooms. An implementation may measure and/or record signal strength data,for example once in the center of the room, at several locations withinthe room, such as when changing direction, or continuously as theplatform moves within the room. For example, once in the center or nearthe center of a room, an implementation may employ a signal strengthsensor to collect signal strength data for the room. In someconfigurations, it may be useful to make multiple measurements of signalstrength within a region to provide additional accuracy and to reduce oreliminate measurement errors.

A signal strength sensor on the autonomous mobile platform may obtainsignal strength data of a wireless device in the region. A wirelessdevice may include any device that communicates over a wireless networkaccessible to a central automation system. This may include any deviceconnected to a wireless local area network, personal area networks,metropolitan area networks, and wide area networks. For example,wireless devices may include temperature and humidity control componentssuch as an internet-controlled thermostat, automated windows that allowfor automated opening and closing, wireless routers, wireless desktopand mobile computers, handheld or portable devices such as smart phones,and the like. Other examples include lighting control systems, which canbe used to control household electric lights, a coffeemaker, a garagedoor, a blender or any household appliance that can be monitored andcontrolled automatically or remotely.

Once the autonomous mobile platform has patrolled most of or the entiredesignated region, the signal strength data for each wireless device maybe aggregated. For example, signal strength data that indicates it isfor a single device, such as via a device identifier associated with thedata, may be compiled within a region to determine the location of thedevice within that region. As a specific example, the signal strengthdata may be analyzed to triangulate the device's location, and/or toidentify a region in which the signal strength is at a maximum, whichmay then identify the most likely physical location of the associateddevice. Other techniques of aggregating signal strength data aredisclosed elsewhere herein. The signal strength data for each wirelessdevice may also be aggregated continuously as the mobile autonomousdevice patrols the region, or it may be aggregated after the device hascompleted patrolling a portion or all of a region. The signal strengthdata can be used to determine the position information of a wirelessdevice in the region, as described herein.

In an implementation, an autonomous mobile platform may also include aphysical environment sensor when obtained by the user or the user mayadd it to an existing platform. The physical environment sensor mayallow the autonomous mobile platform to obtain spatial data for theregion at 103. Physical environment sensors may include, for example,infrared detection systems, laser measurement systems, distancemeasurement systems, stereo cameras, monocular computer vision systems,ultrasonic rangefinders, geo-positioning sensors, radio sensors, and thelike. Spatial data may include information regarding physical objectswithin the physical environment. For example, the physical environmentsensor is capable of identifying the location of an open door, a tablein the center of the room, a lamp, a refrigerator, a person, a chair orany other physical attributes within the spatial region. Spatial datareadings may be taken continuously along the route, at regular intervalsand/or when the autonomous mobile platform encounters a natural orartificial marker. Spatial data also may be obtained by tracking thelocation of the autonomous platform as it moves within a region. Forexample, an initial position of the platform may be obtained or preset,and subsequent movement of the platform may be tracked to obtain spatialdata for the region. Wheel rotation, inertial tracking, or similartechniques may be used to track movement of the platform. As anotherexample, orientation may be determined using absolute position data,such as by use of a compass or similar device, or using relativeposition data, such as a gyroscope or similar mechanism. The angularposition or arrangement of the platform also may be monitored, forexample to identify non-level portions of a region, to determineelevation changes as the platform moves within the region, or the like.

Once the autonomous mobile platform has patrolled most of or the entiredesignated region, the spatial data for physical objects within thephysical environment may be aggregated. The spatial data for thephysical objects within the physical environment may also be aggregatedcontinuously as the mobile autonomous device patrols the region.Collecting the spatial data allows us to generate a map of the region asdescribed herein.

In an implementation, spatial data and/or signal strength data may beobtained using a combined sensor or other appropriate sensor, such as adirectional antenna that obtains a direction of a wireless signal aswell as, or separately from, the strength of the wireless signal. Thus,as the platform moves within a region, it may collect directional datathat indicates a likely direction in which a wireless device may befound, relative to each point within the region from which thedirectional data is obtained. Spatial data as disclosed herein mayinclude this directional data, which may be used to locate a wirelessdevice within a region. In some configurations such directional spatialdata may be used to determine the location of a wireless device within aregion separately from signal strength data obtained for the device.

At 104 the obtained signal strength data and/or the spatial data may beprovided to a central automation system such as a home automationsystem. The central automation system may be located on a mobile device,on the autonomous platform itself, within the region such as a home oroffice, in a remote location (e.g. within a cloud server), or anycombination thereof. The central automation system may use thisinformation to generate a map indicating the location of the wirelessdevices based on the signal strength data and the spatial data.

FIG. 2 shows an example method for determining a location of thewireless device based on the signal strength data. At 201 spatial dataof a region may be received and at 202 signal strength data for awireless device in the region may be received, as previously described.The signal strength data can be used to determine the positioninformation of a wireless device in the region. Similarly, the spatialdata allows for accurate mapping of physical objects within the physicalenvironment. An implementation may determine a location of the wirelessdevice 203 based on the signal strength data.

The location of the wireless devices may be determined by associatinglocation-dependent characteristics, such as received signal strengthdata from multiple access points, to a location, and using thesecharacteristics to determine or infer the location. For example, signalstrength data may be represented as one or more signal strength vectors,each of which indicates a magnitude of received signal strength and adirection from which the signal strength was received, which thenindicates the likely location of the associated wireless device. Thevector direction may be determined, for example, based upon a series ofmeasurements of the signal strength of transmissions sent by the device;if the measurements increase in a direction, it may be presumed that thedevice is located in that direction. As another example, an autonomousmobile platform may include one or more directional antennas, which canbe used to determine the direction from which a wireless signaloriginates as the device surveys a region. Such directions may beobtained, for example, by rotating either the antenna and/or the deviceand taking measurements during rotation. Alternatively or in addition,rotation may be performed via mathematical beam forming using multipleantennas. The highest intensity point found then indicates the mostlikely direction of the signal strength vector. More generally, anysuitable technique of triangulation may be used, in which one or moresignal strength measurements are combined to identify a likely locationand/or direction of a wireless device relative to a position of theautonomous mobile platform. Received signal strength vectors may becollected as the mobile platform patrols a region.

The location of the wireless devices may also be determined bydetermining the signal strength in the region at a series of locations,and identifying the location of the device based upon the highest signalstrength found and/or other trends in the determined signal strengths.For example, a “heat map” may be generated that shows the relativesignal strengths measured within an environment. In such a technique,received signal strength data may be collected as the mobile platformpatrols a region. The current received signal strength may be compiledand plotted within a two-dimensional representation of the environmentto identify peaks or similar trends in the received signal strengths,which indicate the most likely location(s) of wireless devices. Othertechniques for identifying the location of a device may include astrongest base station selection method, nearest-neighbor techniques,probabilistic techniques, and any other suitable methods.

As another example, an autonomous platform may operate as a transmitter,and a wireless device within the region may report the signal strengthof the autonomous platform. This signal strength data may then be usedto determine spatial data for the region, including the location of oneor more wireless devices. For example, the indicated signal strength atvarious positions may be used to construct a heat map as previouslydescribed. As another example, the signal strength of theplatform-transmitted signal may be combined with directional or otherpositional information as previously described to determine the relativelocation of the platform and the wireless device within the region. Ingeneral, the autonomous platform may communicate with the wirelessdevice using any suitable protocol, which may include an indication ofsignal strength. For example, as previously described, an implementationmay make use of the 802.11x RSSI values that are passed between devicesduring routine network communication.

Referring again to FIG. 2, an implementation also may generate a map ofthe region 204 based upon the spatial data and the location data. Themap may indicate the physical location of one or more wireless devicesin the region. For example, the central automation system may include amap builder module or component that converts the spatial data forphysical objects within the physical environment into a two-dimensionalor three-dimensional graphical representation. The map builder may alsoindicate the location of a wireless device within the graphicalrepresentation using the signal strength data. For example, the mapbuilder may create a floor plan of a room indicating the location of awireless device. The floor plan may include large objects within theroom to assist the map-reader locate the wireless devices within aspecific room based on the larger landmarks. The map may also be atopographical map, a geographical map, a listing of devices organized byregions, or other related maps for indicating the location of thewireless devices in the region. For example, an implementation may listwireless devices by their wireless device indicators. The wirelessdevices can be organized by room, e.g. wireless appliances in thekitchen, wireless devices in the living room, etc.

The map may be updated to reflect differential spatial data receivedfrom the autonomous mobile platform. For example, if a table werephysically removed from the living room to the dining room, the table asindicated in a map would be moved from the region indicating the livingroom to the region indicating the dining room. The map may be updated toreflect differential signal data received as well. For example, if awireless device is moved from one region to another, the map willindicate the physical displacement as well. In addition, if the wirelessdevice has a poor connection to the wireless network due to batterydepletion, a faulty wireless card, or the like, the map may indicate thewireless device's inability to connect.

Embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter may be implementedin and used with a variety of component and network architectures. FIG.3 is an example device 20 suitable for implementing embodiments of thepresently disclosed subject matter. The device 20 includes a bus 21which interconnects major components of the device 20, such as a centralprocessor 24, a memory 27 (typically RAM, but which may also includeROM, flash RAM, or the like), a user display 22, such as a displayscreen via a display adapter, a user input interface 26, which mayinclude one or more controllers and associated user input devices suchas a keyboard, mouse, and the like, and may be closely coupled to thefixed storage 23, such as a hard drive, flash storage, Fibre Channelnetwork, SAN device, SCSI device, and the like, and a removable mediacomponent 25 operative to control and receive an optical disk, flashdrive, and the like. A device 20 may include a wireless antenna 30,which may include a directional antenna.

The bus 21 allows data communication between the central processor 24and the memory 27, which may include read-only memory (ROM) or flashmemory (neither shown), and random access memory (RAM) (not shown), aspreviously noted. The RAM is generally the main memory into which theoperating system and application programs are loaded. The ROM or flashmemory can contain, among other code, the Basic Input-Output system(BIOS), which controls basic hardware operation such as the interactionwith peripheral components. Applications resident with the device 20 aregenerally stored on and accessed via a computer readable medium, such asa hard disk drive (e.g., fixed storage 23), an optical drive, floppydisk, or other storage medium 25.

The fixed storage 23 may be integral with the device 20 or may beseparate and accessed through other interfaces. A network interface 29may provide a direct connection to a remote server via a telephone link,to the Internet via an Internet service provider (ISP), a directconnection to a remote server via a direct network link to the Internetvia a POP (point of presence), an intranet connection, a directconnection to a remote monitoring location such as a security company,or other technique. The network interface 29 may provide such connectionusing wireless techniques, including digital cellular telephoneconnection, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) connection, digitalsatellite data connection or the like. For example, the networkinterface 29 may allow the device to communicate with other devices viaone or more local, wide-area, or other networks, as shown in FIG. 4.

In an implementation, an autonomous mobile platform as disclosed hereinmay be an existing platform to which is attached or integrated a regionmapping platform. The region mapping platform may include the varioussensors disclosed herein as being integrated with an autonomous mobileplatform, and may be attached to an existing autonomous mobile platform.For example, an after-market region mapping platform including thecomponents disclosed herein may be temporarily or permanently affixed toan existing autonomous mobile platform such as a home cleaning device.The mapping platform may remain on the autonomous mobile platform for aperiod of time sufficient to obtain data as disclosed herein, afterwhich it may be removed. In a specific example, the region mappingplatform may be a smart phone, tablet, or similar device configured withsoftware configured to perform the operations disclosed herein.

In an implementation, multiple autonomous mobile platforms and/or regionmapping platforms may be used to collect data which can then be used togenerate a map as disclosed herein. This may be useful, for example,when multiple autonomous mobile platforms are available, each of whichmay have different capabilities such as resolution, movement or mappingspeed, processing capabilities, sensor types, network connection types,or the like. As a specific example, a central automation system mayinclude or may be in communication with multiple autonomous cleaningdevices, such as where one device is resident on each floor of a home oroffice space. As another example, an office or hospital space may havesome devices that are operable regularly or periodically, such asdevices that are activated during non-working hours, and other devicesthat are operated only at irregular, specific, or individually-chosentimes, such as where a maintenance device is operated only when aparticular part of the office or hospital space is not in use. Thecentral automation system may receive spatial and/or signal strengthdata for a region from multiple region mapping platforms and use thedata to generate a map of the region as disclosed herein. The data frommultiple platforms may be combined in any suitable way. For example, thedata may be used in whole, as if it was received from a single platformas disclosed herein. As another example, data from one platform may betreated as more precise or reliable, or otherwise may be weighedrelative to data from another platform. As another example, the datafrom each platform may be used to generate an interim map or portion ofa map as disclosed herein and the interim maps then may be combined. Anysuitable technique known in the art for combining overlapping or relateddata from multiple sources may be used.

A central automation system as disclosed herein may include one or moregeneral- or specific-purpose computers that have been programmed tomanage, control, and/or collect data from one or more other deviceswithin a region. For example, a home automation system may include acentral computer system that receives data from one or more deviceswithin a home, via wireless or wired network connections using anysuitable communication protocol, as will be readily understood by one ofskill in the art. A central automation system typically includesprogramming that allows the central automation system to sendinstructions to the connected devices, such as to change the state of adevice, request data obtained by the device, or the like. The centralautomation system also may include or may connect to a user interface,such as a control panel, tablet, smart phone, or other device, thatallows the system to provide data to a user, receive instructions orconfiguration settings from a user, or the like.

Many other devices or components (not shown) may be connected in asimilar manner (e.g., document scanners, digital cameras and so on).Conversely, all of the components shown in FIG. 3 need not be present topractice the present disclosure. For example, an autonomous mobileplatform may not have a user display 22 because an implementation mayprovide data directly to a central automation system. As anotherexample, a platform as disclosed herein may have additional antennas orother wireless interfaces and/or additional physical detectors. Asanother example, such a platform may not include a direct user inputcomponent, a removable media component, or other components that are notnecessary to perform the various functions disclosed herein. Thecomponents can be interconnected in different ways from that shown. Theoperation of a device such as that shown in FIG. 3 is readily known inthe art and is not discussed in detail in this application. Code toimplement the present disclosure can be stored in computer-readablestorage media such as one or more of the memory 27, fixed storage 23,removable media 25, or on a remote storage location.

FIG. 4 shows an example network arrangement according to an embodimentof the disclosed subject matter. One or more clients 10, 11, such aslocal computers, smart phones, tablet computing devices, and the likemay connect to other devices via one or more networks 7. In an exampleimplementation, a client 10 may be a region mapping platform and/orautonomous mobile platform as disclosed herein. The network may be alocal network, wide-area network, the Internet, or any other suitablecommunication network or networks, and may be implemented on anysuitable platform including wired and/or wireless networks. The clientsmay communicate with one or more servers 13 and/or databases 15, such asa central automation system as disclosed herein. The devices may bedirectly accessible by the clients 10, 11, or one or more other devicesmay provide intermediary access such as where a server 13 providesaccess to resources stored in a database 15. The clients 10, 11 also mayaccess remote platforms 17 or services provided by remote platforms 17such as cloud computing arrangements and services. The remote platform17 may include one or more servers 13 and/or databases 15.

More generally, various implementations of the presently disclosedsubject matter may include or be embodied in the form ofcomputer-implemented processes and apparatuses for practicing thoseprocesses. Implementations also may be embodied in the form of acomputer program product having computer program code containinginstructions embodied in non-transitory and/or tangible media, such asfloppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, USB (universal serial bus)drives, or any other machine readable storage medium, wherein, when thecomputer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, thecomputer becomes an apparatus for practicing implementations of thedisclosed subject matter. Implementations also may be embodied in theform of computer program code, for example, whether stored in a storagemedium, loaded into and/or executed by a computer, or transmitted oversome transmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling,through fiber optics, or via electromagnetic radiation, wherein when thecomputer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, thecomputer becomes an apparatus for practicing implementations of thedisclosed subject matter. When implemented on a general-purposemicroprocessor, the computer program code segments configure themicroprocessor to create specific logic circuits. In someconfigurations, a set of computer-readable instructions stored on acomputer-readable storage medium may be implemented by a general-purposeprocessor, which may transform the general-purpose processor or a devicecontaining the general-purpose processor into a special-purpose deviceconfigured to implement or carry out the instructions. Implementationsmay be implemented using hardware that may include a processor, such asa general purpose microprocessor and/or an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC) that embodies all or part of the techniquesaccording to implementations of the disclosed subject matter in hardwareand/or firmware. The processor may be coupled to memory, such as RAM,ROM, flash memory, a hard disk or any other device capable of storingelectronic information. The memory may store instructions adapted to beexecuted by the processor to perform the techniques according toimplementations of the disclosed subject matter.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific implementations. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit implementations of the disclosed subject matter to the preciseforms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in viewof the above teachings. The implementations were chosen and described inorder to explain the principles of implementations of the disclosedsubject matter and their practical applications, to thereby enableothers skilled in the art to utilize those implementations as well asvarious implementations with various modifications as may be suited tothe particular use contemplated. While various implementations of thepresent disclosure have been described above, it should be understoodthat they have been presented by way of example and not limitation. Itwill be apparent to one skilled in the pertinent art that variouschanges in form and detail can be made therein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: surveying a region bya region mapping platform configured to navigate the region, theplatform having at least one wireless signal strength sensor and aphysical environment sensor; wherein the region mapping platformcomprises no more than a single device configured to navigate the regionautonomous from human assistance based on spatial data obtained from thephysical environment sensor; obtaining signal strength data from thewireless signal strength sensor for a wireless device in the region;obtaining spatial data from the physical environment sensor for theregion; and providing the signal strength data and the spatial data to acentral automation system.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the signalstrength data comprises a plurality of received signal strengthindicator values.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal strengthdata comprises a signal strength vector indicating a direction andstrength of a received signal.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thestep of obtaining signal strength data comprises receiving a messagefrom the wireless device that includes the signal strength data.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining signal strength datacomprises obtaining signal strength data from a wireless messagetransmitted according to a wireless protocol in use by the wirelessdevice.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a mapfrom a home automation system, where the map indicates the location ofthe wireless device in the region.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein themap is a topographical map.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the map isa listing of wireless devices organized by regions.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the signal strength data further comprises a wirelessdevice identifier.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the centralautomation system is a home automation system.
 11. The method of claim1, further comprising: prior to surveying the region, receiving a map ofa region comprising an indicator of a physical object in a firstlocation; determining, based on the spatial data, that the physicalobject is no longer in the first location; and updating the map toremove the indicator from the first location.
 12. The method of claim 1,further comprising: detecting a physical object in the region based onthe spatial data; generating a map of the region based on the signalstrength data and the spatial data, wherein the map comprises anindicator of a location of signal strength and an indicator of alocation of the object.
 13. A method comprising: receiving first spatialdata of a region from a first region mapping platform configured tonavigate the region; wherein the region mapping platform comprises nomore than a single device configured to navigate the region autonomousfrom human assistance based on spatial data obtained from a physicalenvironment sensor; receiving first signal strength data for a wirelessdevice in the region; determining a location of the wireless devicebased on the signal strength data; and generating a map of the regionbased upon the first spatial data and the location of the wirelessdevice, the map indicating the location of the wireless device in theregion.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising updating the mapto reflect differential map data.
 15. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising updating the map to reflect differential location data. 16.The method of claim 13, wherein the location data includes signalstrength data.
 17. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receivingsecond spatial data of the region from a second region mapping platform;and generating the map of the region further based upon the secondspatial data.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of receivingthe first signal strength data further comprises receiving the firstsignal strength data from the first region mapping platform.
 19. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising: receiving second signal strengthdata for the wireless device from a second region mapping platform; anddetermining the location of the wireless device further based upon thesecond signal strength data.
 20. A system comprising: a region mappingplatform configured to navigate a region, said region mapping platformcomprising: a wireless signal strength sensor configured to obtainsignal strength data; a physical environment sensor configured to obtainspatial data; a wireless network antenna; and a processor configured tocommunicate the signal strength data and the spatial data via thewireless network antenna to a central automation system wherein theregion mapping platform comprises no more than a single deviceconfigured to navigate the region autonomous from human assistance basedon spatial data obtained from the physical environment sensor.
 21. Thesystem of claim 20, wherein the wireless signal strength sensorcomprises a directional antenna.
 22. The system of claim 20, furthercomprising a multi-purpose sensor that comprises the wireless signalstrength sensor and the physical environment sensor.
 23. The system ofclaim 20, further comprising a server configured to receive the signalstrength data and the spatial data and to generate a map based upon thereceived data.
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the map indicates thelocation of a wireless device in a region surveyed by the region mappingplatform.
 25. The system of claim 23, wherein the map comprises atopographical map.
 26. The system of claim 23, wherein the map comprisesa listing of wireless devices organized by location within the region.27. The system of claim 20, wherein the signal strength data furthercomprises a wireless device identifier.
 28. The system of claim 20,wherein the physical environment sensor is configured to obtainorientation data.
 29. The system of claim 20, wherein the signalstrength data is obtained from a message received from the wirelessdevice that includes the signal strength data.
 30. The system of claim20, wherein the signal strength data comprises signal strength dataobtained from a wireless message transmitted according to a wirelessprotocol in use by the wireless device.
 31. The system of claim 20,wherein the central automation system is a home automation system.